By Beth Falk, NE-DBIC Grants Coordinator
As a regional center serving 11 states, NE-DBIC offers grants to dairy farmers and processors across the Northeast.
We recently visited three grantees in New Hampshire, where we saw how grant funding is helping their businesses grow.
Bending Branch Farm
At Bending Branch Farm in Marlborough, NH, Dan and Megan Field are developing plans to construct a licensed creamery facility on the site of their operating goat dairy farm.
They currently rent space at an offsite facility to make fresh goat cheese; three years in, it’s time to think about growth. A $47,128 Goat & Sheep Dairy Development Grant will enable the Fields to equip the facility with a batch pasteurizer/cheese vat, temperature recorder/indication thermometers, and a commercial refrigerator for the production, storing, and aging of goat cheese.
Dan and Megan introduced NE-DBIC staffers to their herd of dairy goats, toured their existing buildings, and reviewed written plans for creamery development. They shared some of their thoughts about the challenges of dairy business development and access to supply chain resources in rural New England.
Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy
Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy in Mont Vernon, NH used funds from a $50,000 NE-DBIC Goat & Sheep Dairy Development Grant to purchase a pack and seal machine for its expanding sheep yogurt production facility.
This equipment will enable the dairy to obtain Interstate Milk Shippers (IMS) certification, opening access to new markets beyond New Hampshire borders.
Owners Matt Gelbwaks and Julie Whitcomb walked staff through their creamery, which has nearly doubled in size to accommodate new equipment and processing. We also met their newest fall-born lambs and walked the pasture with their dairy sheep. This summer, Matt and Julie hosted an Legacy Apprentice through the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund. Apprentice Rose Houghton learned how to tend to the flock and how to make cheeses, yogurt, and gelato.
We enjoyed samples of sheep cheese, yogurt, and gelato while learning about other farm innovations – including insulating their facility walls with waste wool!
Swallow Ridge Farm
To top off the day, NE-DBIC staff toured the production and packaging areas at Swallow Ridge Farm in New Boston, NH with owner Peter Burr Kress.
A 2024 Dairy Processor Expansion Grant enabled Swallow Ridge to increase overall cheese production and introduce pasteurized cheeses to their existing raw milk cheese line with the purchase and installation of a 200-gallon vat pasteurizer, a plate heat exchanger, and a multi-head vertical cheese press.
The project led to a 60% sales increase and 25% milk purchase increase, translating to almost $30,000 in new sales in the year following the installation. Swallow Ridge reports that the ability to respond to consumer preference for pasteurized cheeses has led to new markets and supported their business strength.
Are you a dairy farmer looking for funding? The next round of the Dairy Farm Improvement & Modernization Grant opens October 14.
This grant supports projects that modernize outdated systems or introduce innovative solutions to improve farm viability, reduce climate impacts, improve milk quality or value, improve worker conditions, and strengthen the farm’s ability to respond to challenges.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter to be notified when it opens.
